Chapter 8 – Behind the Locked Doors
The doors to the Emperor's private chamber slammed shut, the heavy iron latch falling into place with a sound that made Yanyue's heart jolt.
Zhao Wenzhi stood with his back to her, sword still in hand, the blade dripping a slow, steady trail of red onto the polished floor.
He didn't speak immediately. The silence was worse than shouting—thick, suffocating, and full of unasked questions.
Finally, he said, without turning,
"You held that sword like someone who's done it a thousand times."
Her fingers curled against her skirts. "It was instinct."
He turned then, his eyes narrowing. "Instinct doesn't parry trained killers. Instinct doesn't disarm with that precision."
She swallowed. "Would you rather I had died?"
"No," he said flatly, stepping closer. "But I will not have my court believing my… wife is a liar."
The word wife hit her like a blow.
She forced herself to meet his gaze. "And if I told you the truth, would you let me live?"
His eyes darkened. "Try me."
Her voice trembled despite her best efforts. "My name isn't Yanyue. It's Li Fenghua."
The name hung in the air like the toll of a funeral bell.
His expression didn't change, but the grip on his sword tightened almost imperceptibly. "Li… Fenghua."
"You know the name," she said quietly. "You know what happened six years ago. You know what your court did to my family."
Zhao's gaze was unreadable now, though something flickered behind it—something she couldn't place. "And yet, here you are. Alive. Hiding under my roof."
Her laugh was hollow. "Not by choice."
He stepped closer still, close enough that she could feel the faint warmth of him, smell the iron tang of blood on his clothes.
"You should be dead," he said softly. Not as a threat—more like a truth they both already knew.
"I was," she said. "To the world, I was."
They stared at each other, the space between them charged with something dangerous—not quite hatred, not quite trust.
Finally, Zhao sheathed his sword with a sharp click. "From this moment on, you are not to leave my sight without my permission. You will eat where I eat. Sleep where I sleep. Walk where I walk."
Her stomach tightened. "That sounds like imprisonment."
"That sounds like survival," he corrected. "They came for you tonight. Next time, they won't miss."
He turned toward the door, calling for guards. "Double the watch. If anyone lays a hand on her, cut it off."
The latch lifted, and the doors swung open to reveal Chief Eunuch Meng, kneeling low. "Your Majesty, the ministers demand an audience. Rumors have already begun… they say a Li clan survivor walks the palace."
The Emperor glanced at Yanyue. His voice was calm, but there was steel beneath it.
"Let them whisper. Soon enough, they will learn the cost."
But as Yanyue followed him into the torchlit corridor, she couldn't shake the thought that the most dangerous man in this palace was now the one protecting her.
Cliffhanger: In the shadows above the rafters, unseen by either of them, a masked figure slipped away, carrying a folded message: The Phoenix lives.